William loosened his tie and tossed his jacket onto the bed. He exhaled heavily, not from the weight of work or the never-ending cascade of responsibilities, but from sothing far more draining.
Anna... He closed his eyes and rubbed them with both hands, trying to shake off the persistent sting of guilt. Why did it always feel like he got everything wrong when it ca to her?
Sotis I’m so overwheld by these wild emotions that I fear showing them might break her. I don’t even know what I’m feeling. What am I feeling?
With another weary sigh, he ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. I should talk to her. This silence between us... it’s pointless. It’s eating away at .
Determined, he stepped out of the room and headed downstairs to the living room, hoping to nd the growing rift between them over a glass of wine. Tonight, he was even willing to drink—if it ant making her feel just a little bit better.
As he’d expected, Anna was in the living room, sitting quietly by the open patio door, completely absorbed in a book. But what surprised him was the absence of her usual glass of wine on the small table beside her chair.
"You look very serene like this," William said gently.
Anna flinched, startled—she hadn’t noticed him enter.
"Oh..." she murmured, setting the book aside. "You’re back early. Is everything okay?"
He faltered for a mont, his heartbeat quickening. When was the last ti they had simply stood together like this? The setting was quiet, almost intimate. Her voice, calm and soothing, felt like balm on a raw wound. For a fleeting second, it felt like they were truly married—like he was a husband coming ho to a wife who had been waiting just for him.
"Yes," William finally exhaled, taking a step closer to her. "I just wanted to—"
"Mr. Stark!" Daniel’s voice suddenly cut through the peaceful air, sharp with urgency. "It’s an ergency!"
"Daniel?" Anna shot up from her seat, her expression shifting instantly from calm to alard as she moved beside William. "What happened?"
"Gabriel’s been arrested!"
"What?!" they both exclaid in unison, their eyes widening in disbelief.
Daniel let out a shaky breath, thumping his own chest as if trying to force the panic out of his lungs. His face was pale, his voice trembling, and he seed barely able to string together a coherent sentence—an unsettling sign that whatever had happened was truly serious.
"It’s insane," he finally managed, his gaze flicking between Anna and William. "I—I don’t even know where to start."
"Start from the beginning," William said firmly, frowning as he guided Daniel to the couch with a steady hand on his shoulder. "Take a breath. Calm down, and tell us everything."
Daniel nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the palm of his hand. Tiny beads had already begun to form there, and the tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The anticipation was maddening, but everyone knew Daniel needed a mont to gather himself before speaking.
"I was out running an errand when I got his ssage," he finally began, his gaze flicking to William. "Gabriel said he was heading to the Diamond Hotel... with Marienne Rochester."
"Marienne?" Anna’s brows shot up in disbelief. "Why would he go anywhere with her?"
"He didn’t say," Daniel replied with a shake of his head. "He just told to alert the hotel security in twenty minutes. I thought it was strange, so while I did inform them, I also decided to head there myself—just in case. When I arrived and went into the room with security, Gabriel was nearly unconscious, and Miss Rochester was on the floor looking completely disheveled. She claid Gabriel tried to assault her."
"Gabriel? Assault?" Anna gasped, her voice rising with outrage. "That’s impossible! He would never do sothing like that!"
"I know!" Daniel nodded vigorously, just as appalled. "But the room was a disaster when we walked in. Her clothes were torn, and Gabriel looked completely out of it—like he’d been drugged or was drunk beyond comprehension. I don’t know..." He sighed deeply, raking a hand through his hair. "Sothing about it just didn’t feel right."
William frowned, eyes narrowing as he turned to Anna. "How did the two of them even end up together in the first place?"
She sighed and rubbed the space between her brows where a frown had begun to form. "She ca by just before lunchti, asking if she could join us for brunch. I refused, so she was supposed to leave... I guess she must’ve run into Gabriel on her way out. But why would the two of them go to that hotel together?"
"Diamond Hotel..." William echoed the na, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Isn’t that the sa place she took you to when she drugged you?"
"It is," Anna confird with a nod. Then she turned to William’s assistant. "Daniel, you said Gabriel seed drunk, right?"
Daniel hesitated before nodding. "Yeah... well, he looked drunk. Too drunk, actually. There were two glasses and an open bottle of champagne in the room—they had clearly been drinking. The police took everything in as evidence."
"So, she accused him of assault..." Anna murmured, her gaze drifting toward William.
"But why would she do that?" he asked, raising a questioning brow.
Anna took a mont to gather her thoughts, then exhaled slowly, her frown deepening.
"I think she’s in so kind of financial trouble. When she ca here earlier, she asked to use the bathroom. I sent a maid with her, just to make sure she didn’t wander around. Later, the maid told that Marienne asked her to leave, and then stayed in the guest bathroom for an unusually long ti. She seed irritated the entire ti. So... I kind of suspect she was trying to steal sothing."
William crossed his arms, his expression hardening with focus. "So you think luring Gabriel to the hotel was part of so plan? Maybe she was trying to rob him?"
Anna nodded. "That’s what it sounds like. Gabriel rarely carries a wallet—he mostly uses Apple Pay. So maybe when she couldn’t find any cash or cards on him, she panicked and resorted to sothing more extre."
"Accuse him of assault to try and extort settlent money," William concluded, nodding grimly.
"Speaking of his phone!" Daniel suddenly interjected, pulling sothing out of his backpack. "I managed to snatch this before the police could get to it—Gabriel’s phone!"
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